Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” is a tragic play about a man who accidentally kills his father and marries his mother. Sophocles was a Greek playwright who lived in the fifth century BC. “Oedipus the King” is one of his most famous plays. The play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who is informed by a prophet that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
Oedipus tries to avoid this fate, but eventually it comes true. He kills his father without realizing it and then marries his mother. Oedipus eventually finds out what has happened and commits suicide. “Oedipus the King” is a tragic play because Oedipus’ efforts to avoid his fate only lead to disaster.
Oedipus the King is a tragic drama that explores Oedipus’ terrible realization that he has murdered his father and married his mother. The tale of Oedipus was well-known among the Athenians. Oedipus is the epitome of the ideal Athenian man, self-assured, wise, and powerful will. Ironically, these are precisely the characteristics that lead to his downfall. By solving the Sphinx’s riddle, Oedipus acquired control of Thebes. To further characterize him as a tragic character, Sophocles used the sphinx’s riddle as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus’ life.
Oedipus was warned that he would kill his father and marry his mother, but he refused to believe it. Oedipus is a victim of fate, but also of his own self-confidence and intelligence. Oedipus Rex is Sophocles’ most famous play and is considered to be one of the greatest plays ever written. The play is a tragedy of fate and explores the themes of hubris, irony, and the power of the gods. Sophocles was one of the most popular playwrights of his time and his plays are still studied and performed today.
The Sphinx challenged all who came to Thebes to solve the following riddle: “What goes on four feet, two feet, three feet, and has only one voice when it walks on most of its feet? Man is the correct answer. As a child-man crawls on his hands and knees, this is what the Sphinx’s four legs represent. Also as a small kid, man is weakest. He relies entirely on others for his food and safety.
The second stage is when man stands on his two feet representing adolescence and adulthood. He is now able to fend for himself and is considered the strongest of all creatures. The third stage is when man uses a cane or staff in old age. This is the three feet to which the Sphinx refers. old man is now the weakest of all creatures depending on others for support both physically and emotionally. The final stage, death, is represented by the one voice. In death, man loses his physical body and becomes a spirit without a voice.”
Oedipus was the illegitimate son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta, who was taken to the mountain by a shepard to be slain in order that the omen of Apollo, king of the gods, that Laius’ son would kill him and have sex with Jocasta might not come true. Oedipus was at his weakest point in his life at this moment. If it hadn’t been for the shepard sparing his life and giving him to Polybus to raise as his own, Oedipus would have perished.
When a man reaches maturity, he walks on two feet. This is a symbol for Oedipus when he grows up and leaves Corinth to avoid the oracle. A band of travelers meets Oedipus, and in an fury, he kills them. unintentionally, Oedipus murders his own father by doing so.
After solving the sphinx’s riddle, Oedipus becomes king of Thebes. He marries Jocasta, his mother Queen of Thebes, as well as his own mother after gaining rulership of Thebes. Many years later, during which time he has children with Jocasta (some sources say 9), a plague destroys many of the inhabitants of Thebes.
Oedipus sends his brother in law to find out the reason for the plague. The brother in law returns with Teiresias the blind prophet who tells Oedipus that he himself is the killer of Laius and that he is married to his own mother. Sophocles’s “Oedipus Rex” is one of the most well known Greek tragedies. This story has been retold many times throughout history.
The Sphinx informs Oedipus that he must discover the murderer of Laius. He is very meticulous in his research and, at long last, arrives at a terrible truth: he is the killer. Jocasta kills herself when she understands that she has slept with her son, and Oedipus removes his eyes so that he may finally see the light. This completes the Sphinx’s riddle by revealing to Oedipus that as a result of his blindness, he would have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life; this will give him three feet in height at end of his years.
Oedipus used his intellect and perseverance to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. Many of the most brilliant young men in Thebes have perished while attempting to solve the riddle, but Oedipus demonstrated that he was smarter than them. Oedipus uses the same brains and effort to identify Laius’ killer as he did when Jocasta warned him not to continue looking for it. He pursues his quest even though Jocasta tells him not to do so, calling for the shepherds and questioning them until they reveal their terrible secret: they are guilty of murder.
Oedipus is not scared to face the truth about himself. Sophocles “Oedipus the King” is a story about a man who uses his intelligence to find the killer of Laius and in doing so discovers a dark secret about himself. Sophocles “Oedipus the King” is a tragic play about a man who tries to escape his fate but ultimately cannot. Oedipus is a tragic figure because he brings about his own downfall through his actions.
Oedipus’ intellect was ultimately his downfall. Also, had Oedipus not been as brave, he would never have gone to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. As a result of this, even though he murdered his father, Oedipus would not have ascended to the throne of Thebes and engaged in sex with his mother.
Furthermore, if Oedipus had had greater intellect but no bravery, the Sphinx would have slain him for failing to solve the riddle correctly. For Sophocles’, Oedipus is a tragic hero since he achieved his terrible knowledge due to something other than an evil action or quality; it was due to who he was. Sophocles play, Oedipus the King is a perfect example of how a tragic flaw can lead to ones downfall.
